Don't let the title fool you, Beware of Christians is not another anti-Christian documentary that seeks to portray Christianity as a dying, two-faced, legalistic, judgmental, and hypocritical religion. After watching a fair share of documentaries about Christianity, both pro and against, I have found all of them lacking. Those that are pro-Christianity typically seek to reform the church by advocating a post-modern, "Love is God", why can't we all just get along, let's stop being so judgmental approach that has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the Gospel message of Christianity. Those that are anti-Christianity typically seek to choose a radical group that calls themselves Christian and demonstrate just how strange, spooky, judgmental, hypocritical, and two-faced Christians are. Beware of Christians was a breath of fresh air, and was a nice escape from the cliché Christian documentary film.
The concept behind the film is four college dudes take a trip to Europe and travel to various countries in order to help them better understand Christianity in a global context. In each country they visit, they try to focus on a topic and how Christians should respond to that topic given their worldview and paradigm. It sounds like an interesting concept, but considering that none of them speak another language besides English fluently, they are limited to interviews with those who speak English in the countries they visit. Honestly, they would have reached the same conclusions state-side, and seeking to understand Christianity in a global context seems to be more of a ruse for four college guys to travel all around Europe for the summer. Every once in a while the countries they visit play a role in their experiences, but overall, it feels more like a road-trip than a global search for Biblical answers.
The first few minutes are very confusing as the guys introduce themselves and banter back and forth. As one of them explains why they are going overseas to better understand the Christian faith and how they relate to it, the documentary seems to start off on the typical post-modern approach. All four of the guys are professing Christians and grew up in a Christian home. They say that they want to go to Europe, leave everything they know about Christianity in America behind, start afresh, and figure out what it means to be a Christian via Europe. This is the part of the film where I began to have my doubts. It seems, however, that they eventually subconsciously reach the conclusion that the Christian faith is based upon objective truths revealed in the Word of God, and therefore, a European Christian should believe the same thing as an American Christian. The post-modern idea is quickly jettisoned and you hardly even think about it again throughout the film.
Traveling across Europe with four college guys seems very juvenile, and that's how the documentary feels most of the time. As juvenile as their antics are, however, they reach some very important conclusions about the Christian faith, and their discussion and interview segments reveal a more mature side of each of the young men. Their interviews with strangers in Europe are usually followed by video of them discussing what they learned when they got back to America. Although the discussion can feel very "youth-groupy" (if I can make up a word), they search the Scriptures and talk about what the Scriptures teach on the subject. Although almost all of them are not able to articulate themselves coherently, you're able to pick up enough of the pieces to construct a solid, worthwhile conclusion. For instance, in Spain they interviewed several people at a beach about sex and relationships. They then discussed what the Scriptures teach about sex and relationships, what that means for Christians, and how Christians must be set apart from the world in our approach to sex and relationships. They all talk about dating, pre-marital sex, what the Bible teaches about lust, and then they provide relevant personal testimonies about how they are struggling with sex as college students.
I feel comfortable saying that this documentary has the potential to greatly influence the church in America if enough people watch it. Although the explicit Gospel is provided only once throughout the whole film (by a man they meet in Rome), these four college students emphasize over and over that Christianity is much more than many of the churches in America make it out to be. They discuss seven topics throughout their journey, and they reach a Biblical conclusion on each of the topics. For example, on the topic of wealth and poverty, they reach a very similar conclusion to Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert in their book When Helping Hurts: Christians can tend to have a god-complex when it comes to giving, and we would rather send a check in the mail than actually get to know people and their true physical and spiritual needs.
The film is juvenile, full of testosterone, quirky, and inarticulate at times, but I would recommend it to everyone to watch at least once. It is reassuring to see that the next generation of Christians are not buying into the health-and-wealth gospel of prosperity, are appalled by alter calls and revival tactics, are searching the Scriptures for answers to their doubts, are recognizing that Christianity has become a label for myriads of self-righteous heathens, are realizing that Christians cannot go with the secular flow of the world that surrounds them, and that Christianity is much more than a get-out-of-hell-free card.
Throughout the documentary, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is on the tip of the young men's tongues, but all they manage to talk about is "a better way to live" and "a better way to do things." They recognize the Gospel when it is explicitly given to them by a man they interview in Rome, but they never manage to share it explicitly with their audience. Perhaps it is a problem of articulation, but one cannot help but feel nervous about the lack of the Gospel throughout the documentary. After all, apart from the Gospel, Christianity has nothing to offer the world rather than another system of do's and don'ts to further fuel the fire of our fallen reconfiguration of self righteous behavior. One of the young men recognizes this, but he never fully articulates what Christianity has to offer instead of do's and don'ts (except "a better way"). This was by far the most disappointing part of this film.
The documentary is available on Netflix, and I would encourage everyone who reads this to watch it. I would especially recommend it for families with teens and college aged youth to watch as a family. Ladies, you will find the documentary lacking a certain couth and finesse, but bear through it for what it does have to offer. There are scenes where the young men are not wearing shirts, and one of particular note also includes a very manly slapping game that has nothing to lend to the film but more juvenile testosterone antics. Nevertheless, the dialogue is well worth your time and maturity. It is refreshing to see that there are alternative conversations taking place amongst the church's youth today besides the post-modern, subjective, love-is-God, and tolerate everything but intolerance conversations that are reeking havoc on the church today. You'll laugh, you'll wonder why you're laughing, you'll be surprised, and you'll be edified by the conclusions these young men reach about what it means to be a Christian in America and around the world. If nothing else, watch the film so you know why it is called Beware of Christians. It is not reformed, but neither are most Christians today. I assure my reformed readers, though: You will not be disappointed.
No comments:
Post a Comment